Creature of Habit
by Momosportif
Summary: KisaIta!Five chapters long, T for yaoi and mild language, it will explain itself better than I can! Deidara cameo at the end...Please enjoy and comment! Kiki and Tachi are Kishimoto's of course...
1. Creature of Habit

Creature of Habit

He pulled the door shut silently, expertly slipping off his sandals and quickly glancing about the small compound he shared with his partner. It was a habit he developed in the ANBU to check for spies or paper bombs, any hidden danger. It was, of course, unnecessary but he had no power over the action. He swept across the living room to the hall.

"Kisame-san! I have our next assignment…" he shuffled the scroll between his fingers, also a habit.

"Oh good!" came the reply.

Itachi looked into the bedroom. Empty.

"Where are you?"

A sigh.

"I'm taking a bath."

Itachi turned swiftly and glided to the ajar door opposite his room. He was about to push it open, then froze. His eyes widened. What was this feeling? He let his hand fall back to his side. For some reason as he realized the implications of "taking a bath" he had frozen up. His skin crawled up his limbs to his neck and he hunched his shoulders in an attempt to shake it off.

"Oh… I guess I'll just read it to you then…"

"No it's better if you come in so I can look at it-"

"I will read it to you from here or wait until you come out."

Kisame leaned his head back. Itachi could be so demanding. At first the orders from the kid had irritated him to no end, but now he found comfort in their consistent presence and enjoyed the structure of someone giving him commands. It was like living with, well, a woman again, like living with his mom. There. That was better. However, they were still somewhat annoying time-to-time, just like mom's (see, he's more like my mom than a woman, right? Yes.) Itachi heard the sound of water moving and then two wet steps. He held his breath, chest tightening. He had to move. Kisame opened the door to an empty hallway. He sighed, clutching the towel in place around his waist.

"Itachi, where did you go?" No reply. He pushed the bedroom door open the rest of the way. He was a bit frightened as this was a violation of Itachi's house rules. He liked to try and keep him happy. "Itachi?" Itachi whispered "Damn" from his spot on the floor on the other side of the bed. He stood, trying to maintain some dignity. He looked at his partner and immediately averted his eyes. Why was his heart throbbing like he'd run a mile? Why couldn't he face his exasperated partner? "Well?"

"Well what?" he shot back. He didn't mean to be harsh. He kicked himself inwardly.

"Let's have it. I came out, like you said, so read me the assignment."

"No." He withdrew an arm from his sleeve to rest in the front of his robes, a defensive habit. "Go finish your bath. I didn't mean to-"

"Well, I'm here now so there's no point in-"

" I said _go_!"

"I know what you said, I-"

"You don't understand! There's more to it than that!" They were yelling now.

"So what is it?" His stomach lurched at Kisame's tone. How could he affect him like this? Why did he want to- Itachi shook his head. He made the mistake of looking up and found his eyes glued to Kisame's bare chest. He understood now. There was only one way _he_ could be controlled like this. His heart thumped as he debated whether to scream or break down or throw something in a tantrum. "What is it?" Kisame growled. All Itachi could think of was _Isn't it supposed to be a girl? Isn't it supposed to be a girl?_ as he finally managed to shut his eyes and stop them from an intricate examination of the other man. He opened them and in an uncharacteristic display of emotion, blurted it out.

"I like you!" _There. I said it_. He closed his eyes again, not wanting to see the reaction. Kisame blinked, confused. _Why's he bringing that up now? I really don't get him._

"That's good. I thought we were going to have to apply for new partners for a minute there. I was under the impression you hated me. Well that's nice." He smiled, turning to go. "I like you too." Itachi blinked.

"What?" but Kisame had already waddled to his interrupted bath. He sank to his bed, touching his forehead. He flopped back with a sigh. He didn't get it. How could he not get it? There's no way he didn't get it… He… "Oh, Kisame…"

Kisame eased back into their tub, content and somewhat proud of having braved an emotional conversation. He was still a bit confused though. _Who gets all worked up and then says he likes you? Hm. It must be a habit._


	2. Little Partner

Little Partner

"We're going the wrong way," he said sedately for the fourth time as he examined his nails with a bored expression. His partner stopped. He stopped, looking up. "I'm just saying the facts." He waited patiently for Kisame to come up with a retort and control his temper. Kisame crumpled the map and dropped it at Itachi' feet. He did not appreciate his partner's existence at the moment. It had been like this ever since their brawl. He truly did not understand his partner. For one evening he had been bearable, pleasant, gushy even. The next morning he was intolerably aloof, more demanding and bossy than ever, and extremely contradictive. The worst part was Itachi had been right. Every time. Confidentially, this was Kisame's punishment for lack of understanding and Itachi was very pleased to see he'd finally caused him to reach a breaking point. He looked at the sky. "It's going to rain soon," he announced. Kisame tightened his fists. His calm partner turned abruptly and began walking in the other direction. "Don't forget the map." Kisame wanted to run Samehada through something. Something short and obnoxious.

* * *

As Itachi had stated, they had been, indeed, going the wrong way, and as Itachi had predicted, the grey sky began to sprinkle, then pour on them as they reached the next village. "I imagine leader's message is late as well," he said idly, glaring at the sky and clutching his arms. He despised rain. He also despised leader's ridiculous assignment methods. They had not been given full instructions for this assassination, oh no, leader had to turn a simple cut and run into a wild goose chase across the country in which they were given clues at check points (delivered via Deidara's clay pigeons) that led to their next check point and supposedly eventually to their "client". They didn't even know who they were killing yet. The whole concept was tremendously inconvenient and overall stupid. But leader was leader. They were supposed to wait at the gate now, so they stood on opposite sides, Itachi getting more and more vexed at life in general and Kisame puzzling over the emotional state of his partner. It seemed to be that of a teenage girl's, which bothered him immensely because it made him feel a very specific emotion he could not describe. Itachi took turns glaring at the sky and at the horizon as he wondered if clay birds could fly in rainstorms. He glanced at his partner, seemingly unphased by the rain and glaring as well, but in thought not irritation. He was almost, well, cute standing there with a hand at his chin, brows furrowed, and eyes scouring the mud for answers. In fact, he was rather adorable, especially with his hair flattened by the rain. Suddenly he looked up and caught Itachi staring at him. Itachi looked like a stray cat. Kisame rolled a shoulder a bit as he weighed his feelings. He should just ignore him in return for earlier aggression, but he reasoned it wasn't Itachi's fault he had been consistently correct or that he had been born a bossy, commanding, and subject to grudge-holding person (for he figured he must have committed some crime against Itachi in order to evoke his wrath like this.) That's just how he was. And had he not said that night before all this that he liked him? He trusted Itachi and assumed, since underneath all the vengeance there was some, if little, companion-like affection, it was all right to give in. He peered trough the torrents as he said heavily,

"You don't like rain do you?" He expected a smart response but all he got was a,

"No. Not at all. It's an Uchiha thing." Kisame unsnapped his robes in the front.

"Come here. You can hide out in here until it's over. It will be a lot warmer." Itachi seemed to freeze for a moment, then scurried across the gateway and into Kisame's arms. He snapped the robe back up and pulled his hat down a bit to cover them both. "Better, little partner?" Itachi's heart was racing. He fought down a blush as a strong arm pressed him to the dry and surprisingly warm retreat of Kisame's slowly rising and falling chest. He buried his head into the space between his arms. Kisame blinked, shocked at their closeness, but only for a moment. He grinned. Then looked down as a familiar voice murmured indignantly,

"I'm not little."


	3. Tinge of Something

Tinge of Something

For once, Kisame noticed something first. Perhaps it was because Itachi was half asleep standing up (or so Kisame suspected because his partner had jumped an alarming distance when Kisame had pointed out the bird), but in any case he was awake now. Very awake.

"Don't break it please," begged Kisame as he watched the intense glare aimed at the little clay pigeon and his partner's grip tighten as though to choke it. Instead, Itachi ripped the message off its foot with more force than necessary, muttering obscenities all the while.

"The hell kind of hour is this to be getting freaking messages?" He unfurled the paper violently. Kisame leaned over his fuming partner's shoulder.

_Greetings Kisame and Itachi-san_

_This is leader. I'm assuming you've made it to your destination in one piece and have not yet abandoned each other. Tonight you will stay here as this is… YOUR FINAL DESTINATION! Exciting, no? I have already gotten accommodations for you at the small inn on the second to last street, last building. Another bird will be arriving at 3 in the morning-_

"THE HELL!?"

_- exactly, and you are to receive it at the front gate and return to your room. As always, you must obey all orders exactly or face the consequences. You have five._

_Leader_

"Five what?" snapped Itachi, attempting to find an answer by crumpling the paper. He narrowed his eyes, squeezing the bird venomously. Kisame swallowed.

"Can I, can I see that?" he asked meekly.

"See what?" Itachi snapped. "Oh…Yeah," he shoved the wadded paper in Kisame's hand. Kisame rotated the paper, looking at it from all angles in case some clue revealed itself. When nothing happened, he reread the note.

_Five… five… five…_ "Hey…" he looked at Itachi's back, "Itachi-san… how much time do you think has passed since we got this note?" Itachi turned, exasperated.

"Oh, I don't know… four… four to five minutes." –BAM- The clay bird exploded in Itachi's hand. "DAMMIT!"

* * *

"Reservations? Alright, sir...what name is it under?" 

"Name? Name…" Kisame growled it the second time. Leader _always_ forgot some essential detail. He was beginning to suspect that he did it on purpose. Itachi glared, hand resting in the front of his robes. Why was Kisame so indiscreet? It was so inconvenient. And why did leader want them to fail? Curse leader and his selective memory, curse Deidara's damned bird, and, hell, why not just curse leader? In general.

"Our associate forgot to tell us what name it would be under…" he said stepping forward, a signal to Kisame that he was now in charge of talking. Kisame stepped back.

"Well, is there a way you can contact him?" asked the man behind the counter.

"Not soon enough for our purposes."

"Well can you make a guess, I mean it's bound to be one of your names."

"Our associate is, um, how should I say this, a bit quirky, if you follow. It will be something obscure…" The hand under the counter methodically moved its fingers as if passing a kunai between them. This was quite a gamble. "Something that would stand out as strange but that we'd never think of."

"Oh! Might it be under the name "Five"?" Itachi's fingers stopped. His other hand clenched, fresh scrapes from clay splinters stretching.

"Why, yes, yes it might."

"Excellent! Right this way please."

_Thank god for idiots_.

* * *

The door to their tiny room closed, leaving them alone. Itachi waited until the footsteps were no longer audible and then kicked the bed with all the force he could muster at eleven at night. Kisame thought it wise to remain silent. 

"Typical… He would make us share a room." Itachi addressed the ceiling as if leader might be there at the very moment, heckling at them.

"It could be worse," offered Kisame, slowly inching away from the vexed Uchiha.

"Damn right it could," he kneed the nightstand with considerably less vehemence, in an attempt to jar the lamp so it would shed more light in the dark room. Instead it dimmed. He glared. "It could be raining." Kisame relaxed a bit. It seemed as though his partner's wrath was passing. They were both tired, for the moment safe, and had survived day one of the mission. He sat on the bed, which protested under his weight with a creak, and slipped off his shoes.

"Aah…" he sighed, carefully watching his little partner's back. Itachi was looking out the window struggling to control rapid onslaughts of shivers. He was dreading this. How in the world was he going to sleep with Kisame? What if some uncontrollable urge caused him to… do something rash? There were several such urges passing through his mind now and he wasn't even looking at Kisame. He could suppress them now, but he seriously doubted if he could when he was lying next to him. He groaned. "Something wrong?" yawned his partner. Itachi turned against his better judgment. All nervousness was lost to curiousness and incredulous surprise.

"You sleep with _that_?" Kisame had laid Samehada on the bed on his half and was unbuttoning his robes.

"You mean my sword?"

"Well obviously."

"Of course I do! What if we were ambushed?"

"Ambushed?"

"Yeah, or something happened… I just always have it with me… in case." Itachi made the most sophisticated scoffing noise possible.

"Well I'm not going to sleep with that _thing_."

"Where are you going to sleep then?" Kisame did not want this. He was too tired to survive a spat with the fiery little creature.

"On the floor if I have to."

"Why do you have to be like this?"

"Like what?"

"Like…" _my mother_. Itachi raised his eyebrows, something he often did before he killed someone. "Look: you're tired. I'm tired. Can't we just go to bed and deal with this in the morning?" Itachi calmed slightly, succumbing to his obvious weariness. "Come here, let me see your hand." Itachi kneeled on the bed (which barely bent under his weight) and tentatively let Kisame take the scratched hand. He felt his stomach flop as Kisame examined it with a startlingly gentle touch. His hands were rough and cold, almost clammy. Itachi wanted to twist his fingers in between the cool blue ones so badly he had to bite his tongue and use pain to drive away the inclination. "It will be okay in a couple days it looks like. Less if we can find some healing salve." Kisame released his partner's hand. Itachi looked at his hand in a state of shock. Kisame noticed his lack of movement and found himself staring at Itachi. He realized, for the first time, his partner was kind of, well, attractive, cute right now because he was pouting, but potentially handsome. _To a girl of course_, Kisame amended. He carefully propped Samehada against the wall and lay on his back, getting halfway under the blankets. He resumed studying the still motionless Itachi. "Hey little partner," he received a glare, "Put your hair down."

"What?"

"Put your hair down."

"Why?"

"I don't know… I've just never seen it down." Itachi reluctantly undid the tie and let the dark hair fall to caress his defensively hunched shoulders. "I like it," Kisame said smiling. Itachi cringed and muttered something about it getting in the way. "Aren't you going to take off your robe?" This earned the irritated down-the-nose look.

"Do I look like a stripper to you?"

"Actually, yes, sort of… In a good way!" This did not save him from a well-aimed pillow. There was a sharp knock on the wall.

"Keep it down in there!" came a harsh voice. A kunai whizzed over Kisame's nose twisting complicatedly to smack the wall with the hilt.

"You keep it down, lovebird!" Itachi shouted back. "I can hear you kissing something and I hope it's not yourself. Dead man," he murmured the last bit before whacking the nightstand and causing the light to go off. Kisame felt an unfamiliar tinge of something  
as his partner lay down beside him, warm legs brushing against his own. "Goodnight, Kisame-san."

"Good night"


	4. Better Than Good

Better than Good

"Mmm…" Kisame woke up. He had the mysterious ability to wake up exactly when he needed to if he concentrated hard enough on it before falling asleep. And he had. He just couldn't remember why he needed to wake up. It was still dark for the most part and the runny window showed that it was drizzling outside. The only noise was Itachi's light breathing at his side. He looked down. Itachi was curled into a ball with all but one of the blankets pulled tight around him. His hair spread out behind him and fell across his face, a few strands being buffeted about by his steady inhales and exhales. Kisame reached his arm over to tuck the hair behind Itachi's ear. Something about Itachi being peaceful made him smile. He glanced down farther and saw his partner's scratched hand. The bird. "The bird!" Kisame shook Itachi gently, then harder. "The bird, Itachi-san! The bird!"

"Hm? The-" Itachi sat up and grabbed Kisame's shoulders. "The bird, Kisame, the damned bird!" They were out of bed instantly. Kisame grabbed Samehada and reached the door in two strides. Itachi however had pulled on his robe and shoved the window open. With slight difficulty due to the hair tie in his teeth he explained, jerking his head towards the window, "It's faster." Before Kisame could protest, the slight form of his partner had disappeared. Kisame stuck his head out into the rain.

"Itachi…"

* * *

_**T**__his letter includes a detailed diagram of out client's office, which is located in the center of the village._

_**W**__e wish you luck: remember the consequences._

_**O**__nce you finish your task, go to the gate at two in the afternoon to catch your ride that will leave within five minutes if you're not there._

_Leader_

Itachi sighed. Kisame felt something hit his shoulder. It was Itachi. Apparently, he wanted to hand off the bird. Kisame took it.

"How long do we have?" Itachi mouthed the words as he sped-read again and again.

"This… We… Once…"

"This, We, Once…" repeated Kisame.

"What?" Itachi lowered the scroll.

"I was just repeating what you-"

"Throw it!"

"What?"

"Throw the bird!" Kisame blinked. "The bird, dammit!" Itachi pried it from Kisame's fingers and threw it. –BAM- "DAMMIT!" He wasn't fast enough. Itachi put his fingers in his mouth. "Dammit," he whispered, glaring down at his two maimed hands. Thunder cracked and the drizzle turned to a downpour. They looked at each other and said together,

"Dammit."

* * *

Itachi pulled his obi tighter. He hadn't worn something like this in a long time. Kisame joined him under the awning of the circular building, shaking their umbrella. Itachi had insisted upon its purchase in addition to his "disguise", the plain dark blue robes he was now wearing.

"Remember the plan." It was not a question, but a command. Kisame nodded, cringing slightly at the inflection that sounded so much like "Clean your room"s of his younger days. Itachi, calm and collected as ever, knocked on the door. At first nothing happened as far as Kisame could see, Itachi caught the quick flashes of eye slots all up and down the wall. The door opened. Kisame couldn't see anyone. Itachi smiled. _Typical. This will be a breeze_. He stepped into the doorway, but something held him back. He whipped around, eyes narrowed, only to find Kisame holding his wrist with a slightly concerned countenance. Kisame didn't know why, but something had made him stop Itachi. Now he had no idea what to say. Itachi was giving him the most sinister death stare in his arsenal of glares. His eyebrows raised in an "explain yourself" way. Kisame swallowed.

"Be careful, okay?" The glare intensified, then dissipated to his usual expression.

"Okay." Kisame let his partner's scratched hand slip out of his own. He went to his post at the window. He used the hilt of Samehada to lever it up a few inches and leaned over to peer inside.

* * *

Itachi was seated opposite the window by his black-clad escort. Good. He would be able to keep Kisame in check if necessary. He turned his gaze to the man sitting opposite him, taking careful note of the number of other men in the room and each exit. It was laid out just as leader had said. Even better than good.

"Well… What can I do for ya?" He looked imperiously at the man. He couldn't be more than a petty crime lord, a sleazy third-rate womanizing one at that. Leader had strange taste in assassination clients. A woman glided over to offer him tea. Itachi took a glass and dipped it back to closed lips. He was not in the mood for third-rate tea as well. The man watched his company intently. His eyes widened and then went back to their half closed state. "Nice ring you got there… It's on of them… Akatsuki things, right?"

He's more observant that I thought. Itachi hid his smirk behind another faked sip. "Is it? I wouldn't know… Just another trinket I found…" He twisted it idly, watching the guards tighten in with his peripheral vision. "Speaking of which… I've heard you have some fairly decent trinkets yourself." The man grinned.

"What kind?" he said gesturing to the girls on either side of his throne-like chair. Itachi smiled.

"Not that. Something that doesn't require so much… attention." He examined his ring again.

"Hmm…" the man thought, passing bejeweled fingers through his dark hair. "That would depend on your price range… What's your name again?" Itachi was silent. The guards got closer. Outside, Kisame put a hand on the hilt of his sword. "It wouldn't happen to be… Uchiha Itachi, would it?" Kisame's grip tightened. Itachi looked warningly at the window, directly at his partner's yellow eyes. A kunai flew across the room, barely missing Itachi, who turned his gaze to his attacker. "Because then we'd have to kill you." Itachi was unmoved. His eyebrows raised slightly, the look he used to show that you had his attention.

"It seems I'm not the only one hiding things… so just where are you from? What village had you on their missing-nin list?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here." Itachi laughed pleasantly. Kisame saw the eyebrows go up though.

"Forgive me." They snapped down to a glare. "I have bad manners." Itachi was on his feet before the sentence ended, producing a knife, like the one in the wall behind him, from each sleeve. He pulled his raised arms back to slice the throats of the two men beside him, twisting them in the same motion to flick the blood off.

_Your left_ thought Kisame desperately, feeling helpless. Itachi noticed and sent the man flying to the floor with a swift characteristic kick below the gut before turning to bring the two kunai across the chest of the fourth man in an "x". The blades somehow made it to one hand, spun, then were driven through the winded man's throat. Kisame enjoyed watching Itachi fight. He had an unusual grace and accuracy. And very alluring blood thirst at times. The man jumped from his seat, producing an incredibly beautiful blade from behind the chair. A girl screamed. He slashed her throat without turning to look. Crimson blinked from the blade. Itachi stood still. The man was within a well-aimed lunge's distance. Samehada rose slowly as Kisame prepared to knock down the wall separating him from his defenseless partner in complete disregard of Itachi's rules. But he'd done that before. That was not why he was scared. That was not why his palm was sweating. It was the thought of someone hurting, killing his… _my what?_ Itachi turned his head slightly to look at the woman.

"You shouldn't mistreat your merchandise like that." He locked eyes with the man. Kisame couldn't see, but he knew by the way the man froze. "Or it will mistreat you." Itachi halved his height and lunged at the man's stomach. The ferocity and force was insane for such a small creature. But that was Itachi.

"Little partner…" The man released the weapon at the same time Itachi grabbed it and lifted a leg to bring it down on his chest. He swung the sword around to the man's throat.

"But I was never interested in morals," he lowered the sword and raised a hand to his face. Brushed the bangs back. Kisame knew what that meant. He got ready for- "Fireball jutsu." Kisame whacked down the wall in one stroke.

"ITACHI!" More women screamed. Some escaped through the opening. "ITACHI!!!" Kisame didn't see them. "ITACHI!!!!!" he bellowed. The flaming building smoked in response to the rain. There was a cough. Itachi walked out of the clouds of smoke. He staggered a bit. Kisame caught him. "Itachi…" He coughed again. Then sneezed. He looked up.

"Big partner?" his voice was softer than usual. Gentle even. He glared slightly at the rain. "I think I'm getting sick." He leaned against Kisame's chest. "Remind me to tell leader we need a break from outdoor missions for a while." He plunged the sword into the dirt to clean off the blade.

"Why do you do that?"

"Hm?"

"Why do you always have to clean off the blood?" Itachi looked at the sword and then gazed up tiredly. He smiled.

"I guess it's just a habit."


	5. Rules are Rules

Rules Are Rules

"You're going the wrong way." Itachi froze.

"Right. Yes, this way. The front gate. Yes." Kisame was wary of his partner. Never had Itachi shown confusion or lack of focus or whatever this new behavior was and it was downright disconcerting. Kisame strode ahead as they walked from the hotel. No one stopped them. Everyone was at the burning building. They had left their due on the counter. "Oh!" Itachi tripped over some nonexistent obstacle, stumbled forward and would have landed face first in the mud if Kisame hadn't uprighted him. He distanced himself by a few brisk paces, then stopped when he didn't hear accompanying footsteps. Apparently the trip had jarred Itachi to reality because the voice was low and dangerous at it turned a question into an accusation. "You were worried back there, weren't you?" Kisame rolled his eyes and lumbered on. "I asked if you were worried about me, you-"

"So what if I was?"

"I don't give a damn, just answer my question, you-"

"'You' what?" Kisame turned to face down his partner. Itachi glared venomously, but said nothing, although his eyes were making his feelings very clear. Then out of the blue,

"What happens after all this, after Akatsuki?"

"_What?_" _I will never understand him…_

"Have you thought about that at all? What happens after we complete leader's grand scheme, what then?"

"Well… I've always thought… I-"

"You don't know, do you? I don't either, but…" Kisame didn't hear this, as he was lost in thought.

"You know maybe… maybe leader will kill us all off after we get all the tailed beasts." Itachi looked at his partner in exasperated awe.

_He did not just ignore me… He still doesn't get it, does he? He did not… _"Well yes, that's very possible, but presuming we survive, what are you going to do after all this?" Kisame cocked his head, puzzled. Itachi elaborated, stepping forward and being sure not to make eye contact. "I'm only asking because, because I… I would hope… that maybe you would still have interest in, in being my… partner." He slid an arm into his robes and looked at the ground by Kisame's feet. Kisame watched the hand slip up and out the front of his robes as he tried to make sense of his partner's babbling.

"What kind of partner, Itachi-san?" Itachi's eyes had never been larger in his life. Kisame took a step back, startled. Itachi might have murmured something but the pounding rain made it hard to tell. An awkward silence grew between them. Kisame attempted to save the situation, "Well, look, it doesn't matter, I guess, um, sorry to have… well anyways the point is my answer is yes, I mean as far as I know. I certainly don't have plans and… yeah." He felt he had done a good job. He turned to press on towards the gate and added, "As I said before, I like you." Behind him, Itachi involuntarily lurched. Then he glared. Somehow, some way, Kisame had to understand.

"You don't get it, you-"

"I do." Kisame turned to his outraged partner. He hesitated a moment, then lifted the startled Uchiha off the ground, holding him close. "I get it." Their noses touched, the large sharp one and the small, perfectly curved one. Itachi pulled back instinctively. He surveyed his partner and then propped his elbows on Kisame's broad shoulders to pull him in.

"You _idiot_," he said as he leaned his head to the side and slightly pressed his lips to his partner's. Kisame blinked, unsure of how to react, and then closed his eyes and slid one arm down to his partner's slim and (to hell with it) feminine waist, savoring the warmth of the kiss and the coolness of the rain streaming down their faces. They broke apart, breathing deeply. Kisame stared at this partner. Itachi studied his partner's slightly pulsing neck.

"Where did you learn to kiss like that?" Itachi glanced up, moving a hand down to slide its fingertips through the short hair at the nape of Kisame's neck.

"We may be known for our skills on the battlefield, but the Uchihas excel in… alternative ilks of 'melee' as well." He let his head rest on Kisame's soaking shoulder, long lashes catching drops. He shut his eyes in bliss. Kisame started at the touch of Itachi's lips on his neck. He tightened his hold. Itachi let a hand venture even lower to rub Kisame's back with his slender fingers. There was the soft smack of lips retreating from a kiss and a shuddering inhale by Kisame's ear. The taller man took a sharp intake of breath at a quick nip of pain. Itachi lolled his head back up to face Kisame's expression of disbelief.

"Did you just bite me?" Itachi had a terribly flirtatious and malicious glare.

"Did I?" There was the bloodlust he found do damn attractive. Kisame set his partner down. He held Itachi's wrist before letting the red lined hand slide out. This time, the deft fingers slid in between the calloused blue ones and they waked to the gate in silence.

* * *

"You don't think…"

"Think what?" Itachi flicked his bangs back.

"You don't think maybe leader might have taken this possibility into consideration when he put us in pairs, Kisame-san?" Kisame looked down and Itachi looked up from his position leaned back against Kisame's chest.

"I mean we're a group of _guys_ who paint their _nails_ and live with each other and spend every hour together and-"

"Are you saying leader was playing matchmaker?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't put it past him."

"That bastard."

"Sounds like treason!" said a voice from above. They looked up to see Deidara mounted on a giant bird, smiling maniacally as usual. "And what's with all that passionate holding I see, un?" They released each other instantly and Itachi sprinted to the bird screaming,

"I'm going to kill you, you freaking jerk! The hell was with those birds! Look at my hands you bitch!"

"What?! I sure as hell am not a bitch, you bitch! And you'd better get your precious hands out of the way before I blow this one up on you!" And they were off. Kisame gently guided his explicit partner to the bird as he and Deidara bantered furiously. "Yeah, we'll see about that, un," finished Deidara as the bird took off. "You little love birds. I should totally tell, un."

"If you want to experience your hair being ripped out for twenty four hours you will," shot back Itachi as he relaxed into Kisame's sturdiness, nestled between his partner's wide spread legs. Kisame rested his chin on Itachi's shoulder, revealing his rows of pointed teeth in a smile. "Oh, and you're not allowed to bite back," said Itachi quietly. "It would leave a mark."

"That's hardly fair, little partner."

"Rules are rules, Kisame-san."


End file.
